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Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 to reduce spending by $917 billion and increase the debt ceiling by $900 billion. In addition, the bill would create a commission to identify a further $1.6 trillion in savings by the end of this year and require both houses of Congress to vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment.
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Sam Graves today issued the following statement on the Budget Control Act of 2011:
"I believe it is time for Washington to act and avoid default. This bill cuts spending now, caps future spending and will require votes on a balanced budget in both chambers.
(Washington, D.C.) Today, the House of Representative voted on the Budget Control Act of 2011 to reduce spending by $917 billion and increase the debt ceiling by $900 billion. In addition, the bill would create a commission to identify a further $1.6 trillion in savings by the end of this year and require both houses of Congress to vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment.
Graves released this statement on his vote for the bill:
Washington, DC— House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) today held a full committee hearing to examine the National Export Strategy and the effect that bureaucratic obstacles are having on small exporters. With over 20 federal agencies involved in the exporting process, many small firms have voiced concern about the difficulty of maneuvering through the bureaucracy and regulations.
WASHINGTON, DC— House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) issued the following statement after the House passed the Small Business Program Extension and Reform Act (H.R. 2608) by voice-vote.
"As we continue to work toward a full and complete reauthorization of the SBA, the Small Business Program Extension and Reform Act will ensure that these vital programs are still available to provide the assistance small business owners need to create jobs.
When the United States does not take in enough money to pay for our debts we have to borrow money. Right now our government is $14,290,000,000,000 in debt. It's a staggering amount that has sky-rocketed. In 2000, our debt was $6 trillion and in 2008 it was under $10 trillion.
Just like money that you and I might borrow from the bank, there is an interest charge. In this budget year, we will pay $205 billion in interest. By 2015, that number is expected to rise to $505 billion. This is taxpayer money that goes to nothing but paying the interest on our debt.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sam Graves today announced that he, and a bipartisan group of tencolleagues from Missouri and Kansas, will serve on a five-state congressional working group that will provide lower basin river communities with a united voice when it comes to management of the Missouri River.
If someone asked you to pay full price for a roof repair now, on the promise they will do the repairs over the next ten years, you probably wouldn't take that offer.
Yet, that's what the President is asking Congress to do in the raising the debt ceiling. He wants immediate tax increases in exchange the promise of reduced spending over the next 10 years. I don't think that's a very good deal.
When the president signs an act of Congress into law, federal agencies are required to abide by it. However, this has not been the case with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which federal agencies continue to ignore time and time again.
Created by Congress in 1980 to relieve the stress of onerous overregulation on small businesses, the RFA charges all federal agencies with examining the impact of their proposed and final rules on small firms. If those impacts are significant, the agency is required to consider less burdensome alternatives.
Last summer, the president lauded a supposed "recovery summer" initiative that celebrated the "success" of the administration's stimulus plan. However, during that span of time, the U.S. economy shed jobs for three straight months, and unemployment edged up to 9.6 percent.
Following the one-year anniversary of the "recovery summer" last month, let's re-evaluate Washington's economic growth policies of the last few years, and whether they have worked.
Here are the facts: